Nine more activists granted bail in Arctic 30 case

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Press release - 19 November, 2013

Amsterdam, 19 November 2013 - Nine Greenpeace activists were today granted bail in St Petersburg. Twelve of the so-called Arctic 30 have now been told they will soon be released. They were told they will be released from jail if they can provide financial surety of 2 million rubles (45k Euros).

But one activist, Australian Colin Russell, was refused bail yesterday. Greenpeace says it will vigorously challenge the order to keep him in jail.

The development came the day after three Russian activists were told on Monday 18 November they would be released from prison.

Ana Paula’s mother Rosangela Maciel said this morning:"This is the most lovely news I've got in the last two months, but justice will only be done when all the absurd charges are dropped. A person who only does good for the planet, like my daughter, must be recognised by their actions, not unjustly accused. This is the onlyway we can keep the faith in the future."

Mads Christensen of Greenpeace said:“We cannot be at all confident that the Arctic 30 are going home any time soon. None of them have passports, so as things stand at the very least they could be restricted to Russian territory. And they are still charged with at least one very serious offence which could see them jailed for many years. Nobody at Greenpeace is celebrating yet.”

Patti Stirling, sister of Paul Ruzycki, said:"It's a bittersweet day. We're very happy Paul is coming out of jail, but we know his first thoughts will be for the people he's leaving behind in prison. All of the Arctic 30, including Paul, are still facing very serious charges and we can’t for a moment think this is a victory."

Camila's mother Paula Boscaroli said:"We cannot wait to hug Camila and tell her how much we love her".